Title of Regulation: 4VAC20-950. Pertaining to Black Sea Bass (amending 4VAC20-950-20, 4VAC20-950-45, 4VAC20-950-46, 4VAC20-950-48.1, 4VAC20-950-49).

Statutory Authority: § 28.2-201 of the Code of Virginia.

Effective Date: January 23, 2019.

Agency Contact: Jennifer Farmer, Regulatory Coordinator, Marine Resources Commission, 380 Fenwick Road, Building 96, Fort Monroe, VA 23651, telephone (757) 247-2248, or email jennifer.farmer@mrc.virginia.gov.

Summary:

The amendments establish a February 2019 recreational black sea bass fishery, modify the recreational black sea bass permitting requirements, and improve the characterization of directed and bycatch fishery permits for the black sea bass fishery.

4VAC20-950-20. Definitions.

The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall have the following meaning unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

"Black sea bass" means any fish of the species Centropristis striata.

"Land" or "landing" means to (i) enter port with finfish, shellfish, crustaceans, or other marine seafood on board any boat or vessel; (ii) begin offloading finfish, shellfish, crustaceans, or other marine seafood; or (iii) offload finfish, shellfish, crustaceans, or other marine seafood.

"Recreational vessel" means any vessel, kayak, charter vessel, or headboat participating in the recreational black sea bass fishery.

"Snout" means the most forward projection from a fish's head that includes the upper and lower jaw.

"Total length" means the length of a fish measured from the most forward projection of the snout, with the mouth closed, to the tip of the longer lobe of the tail (caudal) fin, excluding the caudal fin filament, measured with the tail compressed along the midline, using a straight-line measure, not measured over the curve of the body.

4VAC20-950-45. Recreational possession limits and seasons.

A. It shall be unlawful for any person fishing with hook and line, rod and reel, spear, gig, or other recreational gear to possess more than 15 black sea bass. When fishing is from a boat or vessel where the entire catch is held in a common hold or container, the possession limit shall be for that boat or vessel and shall be equal to the number of persons on board legally licensed to fish, multiplied by 15. The captain or operator of the boat or vessel shall be responsible for that boat or vessel possession limit. Any black sea bass taken after the possession limit has been reached shall be returned to the water immediately.

B. Possession of any quantity of black sea bass that exceeds the possession limit described in subsection A of this section shall be presumed to be for commercial purposes.

C. The open recreational fishing season shall be from February 1 through February 28 and May 15 through December 31.

D. It shall be unlawful for any person fishing recreationally to take, catch, or possess any black sea bass, except during an open recreational season.

E. It From February 1 through February 28, it shall be unlawful for any person fishing recreationally to take, catch, or to possess or land any black sea bass from February 1 through February 28 without first having harvested from a recreational vessel, unless the captain or operator of that recreational vessel has obtained a Recreational Black Sea Bass Permit from the Marine Resources Commission. It shall be unlawful for any permittee to fail to contact the Marine Resources Commission Operation Station before returning to shore at the end of the fishing trip. The permittee captain or operator shall provide the operation station with be responsible for reporting for all anglers on the recreational vessel and shall provide his name, Marine Resources Commission identification (MRC ID) number, the point of landing, a description of the vessel, and an estimated return to shore time. Any such permittee shall submit a report for any recreational black sea bass fishing trips, which incudes that permittee's MRC ID number, the date of fishing, the mode of fishing number of individuals on board, the mode of fishing, and the number of black sea bass kept or released. That report shall be submitted to the commission or to the Standard Atlantic Fisheries Information System no later than March 15 of the current calendar year, as described in this subsection. Any authorized permittee shall allow commission staff to sample the catch to obtain biological information for scientific and management purposes only. It shall be unlawful for any permittee to fail to report trips where black sea bass were caught, whether harvested, released, or possessed in accordance with this section, on forms provided by the commission or through the Virginia Saltwater Fisherman's Journal within seven days after the trip occurred. It shall be unlawful for any permittee to fail to report trips where black sea bass were targeted but not successfully caught by March 15 of the current calendar year. Any permittee who did not participate in the recreational black sea bass season during February shall notify the commission of his lack of participation by March 15 of the current calendar year.

F. It shall be unlawful for any permittee to fail to contact the Law Enforcement Operations at 1-800-541-4646 before or immediately after the start of each fishing trip. The permittee shall provide the Law Enforcement Operations with his name, MRC ID number, the point of landing, a description of the vessel, estimated return to shore time, and a contact phone number. Any authorized permittee shall allow commission staff to sample the catch to obtain biological information for scientific and management purposes only.

4VAC20-950-46. Directed fishery and bycatch fishery permits.

A. It shall be unlawful for any person to participate in the commercial black sea bass fishery or to possess, harvest, or sell black sea bass, except as described in 4VAC20-950-60 and 4VAC20-950-70, without first qualifying for and obtaining either a directed fishery permit or a bycatch fishery permit from the commission, as described, respectively, in subsections B and, C, and D of this section, unless that person meets the requirements described in 4VAC20-950-48.2.

B. A Any person shall be considered eligible for a directed commercial black sea bass fishery permit who qualified for a directed commercial black sea bass fishery permit, as of January 1, 2003, by satisfying all of the following eligibility criteria: listed in this subsection shall remain eligible for that permit, unless that person permanently transferred all his shares of the directed fishery quota.

1. That person shall hold either a Commercial Fisherman Registration License or a Seafood Landing License in addition to a federal Black Sea Bass Moratorium Permit; and

2. That person shall have landed and sold in Virginia at least 10,000 pounds of black sea bass from July 1, 1997, through December 31, 2001.

C. Any person who meets the eligibility criteria of subsection B of this section but no longer meets the requirements of subdivision B 1 of this section shall remain eligible to transfer shares of his quota in accordance with 4VAC20-950-48.1.

C. D. A person shall be considered eligible for a bycatch commercial black sea bass fishery permit by satisfying all of the following eligibility criteria:

1. That person shall hold either a Commercial Fisherman Registration License or a Seafood Landing License, in addition to a federal Black Sea Bass Moratorium Permit; and

2. That person shall have landed and sold in Virginia at least one pound of black sea bass from July 1, 1997, through December 31, 2001.

4VAC20-950-48.1. Individual transferable quotas.

A. Shares of the directed fishery quota, in pounds, held by any permitted fisherman in the directed fishery may be transferred to another person, and such transfer shall allow the transferee to harvest, possess and land black sea bass in Virginia in a quantity equal to the shares of the directed fishery quota transferred, provided that transferee satisfies the eligibility requirements described in 4VAC20-950-46 B 1.

B. Any transfer of black sea bass shall be limited by the following conditions.

1. Commercial black sea bass shares of the directed fishery quota shall not be transferred in any quantity less than 200 pounds.

2. No person permitted for the directed fishery may hold more than 20% of the annual directed fishery quota.

3. No transfer of shares of the black sea bass directed fishery quota shall be authorized unless such transfer is documented on a form provided by the commission and approved by the commissioner.

4. Any person who receives a permanent transfer of quota but does not satisfy the eligibility requirements described in 4VAC20-950-46 B 1 shall remain eligible to transfer shares of his quota in accordance with this section.

B. C. Transfers of all or a portion of any person's share of the directed fishery quota may be permanent or temporary. Transferred quota shall only be used by the transferee for black sea bass landed in Virginia. Permanent transfers of shares of directed fishery quota shall grant to the transferee that transferred share of the quota for future years, and the transferor loses that same transferred share of the directed fishery quota in future years. Temporary transfers of shares of the directed fishery quota shall allow the transferee to harvest that transferred share of the directed fishery quota during the year in which the transfer is approved. Thereafter, any transferred share of the directed fishery quota reverts back to the transferor.

4VAC20-950-49. Reporting requirements.

A. It shall be unlawful for any person permitted for the directed fishery, the bycatch fishery, or for an authorized alternate landing vessel to fail to contact, within one hour of landing, the Marine Resources Commission's Law Enforcement Operations Division to report his name and the name of the vessel, his permit number, the location where catch will be offloaded, and the estimated weight of the landing of black sea bass.

B. It shall be unlawful for any person permitted for the directed fishery, the bycatch fishery, or for an authorized alternate landing vessel to fail to contact, within 24 hours of landing, the Marine Resources Commission's Interactive Voice Recording System to report the name of the permit holder and the name of the vessel that landed the black sea bass, date of landing, the permit number and the weight of black sea bass landed.

C. Any buyer of black sea bass from a directed fishery permittee, a bycatch fishery permittee, or an authorized alternate landing vessel shall maintain records of all purchases for the current year and prior year and make those records available to the Marine Resources Commission upon request.

FORMS (4VAC20-950)

2019 Recreational/Charter Reporting Form (rev. 12/2018)